


i don't want to be alone anymore

by ExpectoLeviosa8



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Azula (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Azula (Avatar)-centric, Azula Joins the Gaang (Avatar), Canonical Child Abuse, Child Abuse, Child Azula (Avatar), Childhood Friends, Crazy Azula (Avatar), F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Happy Azula (Avatar), Idk how to do tags pls help, Lesbian Azula (Avatar), Lots of Angst, Non-Canon Relationship, Non-Canonical Character Death, Non-Canonical Violence, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, POV Azula (Avatar), Protective Azula (Avatar), i cried, i love azula, too much angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28407486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExpectoLeviosa8/pseuds/ExpectoLeviosa8
Summary: A WEEK AFTER MY BROTHER WAS BANISHED I SNUCK OUT OF THE HOUSE. His banishment officially made me the heir to the Fire Lord. I should be pleased. I am. Even though Zuko was supposed to be the heir, Father had been grooming me for the throne all of my life. I am the firebending prodigy, the strategic genius, the pride of the Royal Family. The throne has always been my destiny. So, I am pleased. Yet, I could not keep the sound of his screaming or the loneliness of his leaving out of my head. So I snuck out.or Azula is a lonely 11-year-old who needs a friend and a hug ASAP.
Relationships: Azula & OC, Azula (Avatar) & Original Character(s), Azula (Avatar) & Original Female Character(s), Azula (Avatar)/Original Character, Azula (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s), Azula/OC
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	i don't want to be alone anymore

A WEEK AFTER MY BROTHER WAS BANISHED I SNUCK OUT OF THE HOUSE. His banishment officially made me the heir to the Fire Lord. I should be pleased. I am. Even though Zuko was supposed to be the heir, Father had been grooming me for the throne all of my life. I am the firebending prodigy, the strategic genius, the pride of the Royal Family. The throne has always been my destiny. So, I am pleased. Yet, I could not keep the sound of his screaming or the loneliness of his leaving out of my head. So I snuck out.

I don’t know why his leaving is making me feel lonely. I’m not alone. Because everyone at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls either loves me, fears me, or wants to be me, I have amassed a strong following, as is proper for the Princess of the Fire Nation. Plus, I have Mai and Ty Lee, my friends. So, I don’t understand why I’m lonely.

Maybe, it’s that Zuko understands me. I’ve seen the parents of the other girl’s at the academy when they fail. Disappointed, upset, but not angry. Not you have to be perfect but I know you can do better next time or even I know that was hard, I’m proud even if you failed. I don’t have that luxury, but neither does Zuko. So maybe that’s why I’m lonely. Or maybe…

I’m shaken out of my reverie when I smack into a girl carrying an armful of fruit.

“Stars, I’m sorry!” She flusters. My answer is a blink, but she doesn’t seem to notice, she’s looking me up and down like she’s searching for something. Her eyes land on a spot on my cloak. “Oh. Oh, no! Your cloak! It’s ruined!” She keeps babbling and I shake my head to get a better look at her. I can’t make out her features too well in the moonlight, but I can make out her dark hair, styled in a half-up half-down top-knot, pale skin, and normal fire-nation attire.

She’s still babbling. I don’t know what she’s saying but she seems devastated, like she regrets nothing more than causing me an inconvenience. She looks on the verge of tears. I’m so overwhelmed by it all that all I can think to say is “Stop,” which is unusual because I always have lots to say. I don’t even say it as a command, it’s soft, sounding more like a request. I never just make requests. She doesn’t even stop babbling.

“It’s ok. Why do you look like you’re about to cry over ruining a stranger’s coat?”

“It’s a pretty coat!”

“It’s really not.”

She huffs, slides down to her knees, and starts picking up her fruits. “I had a really bad day and now I’m going to make a stranger have a terrible night because I ruined their coat.”

Tears start sliding down her face. I kneel down to help her. “I really don’t care about the coat.”

“It’s not about the stupid coat!”

“Then why are you crying?!”

She stops picking up the fruit and looks up at me. “My brother is sick and I don’t have the money to buy him medicine.”

“Oh,”

“Yeah,” she looks at me for a second and finishes picking up the fruit. “I really am sorry about your coat, though. Why don’t you come back to my home and I will help you clean it up?”

“Umm…”

“You can eat some of the fruit while I clean it! Please, it’s the least I can do!”

I don’t understand why she’s being so kind to me. She clearly doesn’t know who I am, as she has not bowed to me or cowered in fear, so that’s not it. Is she really inviting a complete stranger into her home? The thought makes me angry. I could be a thief, or a kidnapper, or a murderer and she would just invite me into her home and make my job easier! It’s ridiculous!

“You really should not be inviting strangers into your home, it could be dangerous.”

She holds out the hand that is not holding the fruit in response. “My name is Amala. What’s your name?”

Again, I just blink in response. She stares at me expectantly and I realize I’m supposed to tell her my name. “Azula,” I grasp her hand and shake it. It doesn’t occur to me that I probably shouldn’t use my real name until later.

Her smile is so bright and genuine, I forget my name. I have never seen anyone smile like that before. She looks beautiful and radiant and all things good. It’s intoxicating and exhilarating. I decide that I will do anything to keep that smile on her face.

“See, now we aren’t strangers. Will you come to my home now?” Just like that, I remember that I am angry because she’s inviting a stranger who could hurt her into her home.

“We are strangers! You know nothing about me!”

“I know your name.”

I can feel my eyes widen as I make an indignant noise. “I could hurt you!”

“Are you going to?”

“What? No!”

“Then I don’t see a problem,” her grasp on my hand tightens and she begins to lead me down an alley. I make the indignant noise again but don’t protest as she leads me deeper into the city.

I’ve seen a lot of the fire nation capital, having sneaked out many times to see it. I figured if I was going to be the Fire Lord one day, I should know the city that I will rule. But Amala leads me down a series of alleys that I have never traveled to a part of the city where I have never been.

“Amala, where are we?”

“The fire nation capital.”

“I mean, duh, but what part?”

“The slums.”

Before I can ask any further questions, Amala stops in front of a door and turns to face me. I only realize we are holding hands when she lets go. I immediately miss the warmth of her hand but refrain from grabbing it again.

“My parents and siblings are sleeping, so we’ll have to be quiet.” She opens the door to a small, warm room lit up by a fire at the back of the room. There is a small kitchen to the left, a rug with a table in the middle, and a door to the right. There is a small vase with flowers on the table. Everything in it looks old and rusted, like it’s about to fall apart, but it’s cozy in a way the palace has never felt. Everything in it looks like it’s been lovingly taken care of. From the drawings pinned on the walls to try to hide cracks in the stones to the frayed edges of the rug. It feels like a home.

Having set down the fruit on the kitchen counter, Amala watches me inspect the home with a slight flush on her cheeks. “It’s not much but-”

“I love it,” I interrupt. “It’s so…” I trail off as I spot the four objects on the mantle of the fireplaces. A wooden incense holder holding an unlit stick of incense, a small clay turtle, a pendant, and a stick. I stepped closer to investigate. The incense holder was carved with an intricate ladder design that matched the design carved on the wooden stick. What really caught my attention, though, was the pendant. The cord of the necklace was strung with thick beads and four red tassels. Two more tassels framed the pendant itself, which was made of wood and carved with three swirls. The symbol of the air nomads.

“Amala, why do you have an air nomad pendant.”

She comes closer to me and studies me for a second, her eyes wide. “Are we friends now?”

“Yes.” I don’t know why I don’t hesitate. I’ve known Amala for all of 10 minutes, but I have never felt so at peace. I know nothing about her, but I already know that I would protect her with my life. Calling her my friend feels right.

“And you wouldn’t hurt me, right? Or betray me?”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“I need you to keep a secret for me. It’s important, me and my family, we could die if this gets out.”

“You can trust me.”

“Ok,” She takes a deep breath. “My family and I are descended from air nomads.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ok first, I haven't read any of the comic books so please don't spoil them in the comments. I decided to write this fic before I read the comics because I wanted to write a different story. Anyway, I always loved Azula and thought her story was soo tragic and she deserved way better. I know one of the comics follows the gaang looking for Ursa and they recruit Azula. My original idea was to write a story that follows Azula with the gaang looking for Ursa when she runs into an old friend (who is my OC), but when I started to write the prequel, I just had to flesh it out more. If this goes well, I'll probably make it a 2 part series: the prequel and the actual story. This fic is not going to be canon-compliant but I will try to make it so that Azula's actions don't necessarily have a ripple effect into canon. (Idk if that made sense but you'll see).
> 
> Anyway, I have no beta reader and I've never written anything before so I don't really know how this fic is going to go, which is why decided to publish this first and see what response I get. I want to know what you think of the dynamic between Amala and Azula. Does it feel too rushed? Since they're both pretty young, I wanted to show the difference between Amala, who you will later see grows up in a loving home and trusts pretty easily, and Azula who does not, but I also wanted to have this whole dynamic where they can't help but trust each other, even if they don't really know each other yet. Does their relationship seem too rushed? What other things could I improve?
> 
> I really appreciate constructive criticism and will probably take this down and re-upload it later with edits. However, as this is my first fic, please don't be mean in the comments!


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